Search - world

 
 
Reader Mail
Apr 7, 2011

Praying for Fukushima's heroes

Regarding Rob Gilhooly's April 3 article, "Crews driven by sense of mission": The noble "Fukushima 50" and others who risk sacrificing themselves for the well-being of others as they quietly do what they can to contain the ruined reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant are true heroes.
EDITORIALS
Apr 6, 2011

End game in Ivory Coast

In most elections, the person who collects the most votes is declared winner and takes the office that was contested. Not in the Ivory Coast. There, incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo has refused to leave office after losing to former Prime Minister Alessane Ouattara.
JAPAN
Apr 6, 2011

Nuclear crisis man-made, not 'an act of god': experts

Despite protestations from the government and Tokyo Electric Power Co. that the tsunami that knocked out the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant was unforeseeable, noted seismologists and nuclear experts say the crisis is largely man-made.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 5, 2011

Foreign volunteers in relief efforts

Ever since the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake, the nongovernmental organization Peace Boat has sent teams of volunteers to assist survivors in disaster-stricken areas as far afield as Kashmir, New Orleans and Indonesia. But according to Takashi Yamamoto, current director of Peace Boat's relief efforts...
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Apr 5, 2011

Letting radiation leak, but never information

March 2011 has shaken Japan to the core. The earthquake, tsunami and nuclear incident in Fukushima have given the world cause to pause and reflect on the fragility and hubris of human existence. My condolences to the victims, and their families and friends.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Apr 5, 2011

Shonan: After the bout-fixing scandal and the March 11 quake, do you think the sumo Summer Basho should still be held?

Robert Feeney
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 5, 2011

J-REITs to halt sales, fundraising in short term

Japan's real estate investment trusts may stall property sales and suspend fundraising plans in the short term as the effects of the historic earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis curb investor appetite for assets.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 5, 2011

Portable generators sell out after quake

Portable power generators made by Honda Motor Co., Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. and Yamaha Motor Co. are running out after the March 11 disaster crippled production while simultaneously stoking demand.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 4, 2011

Russian alienation and the cost of freedom

MOSCOW — The Russian government, with its solid hold on power, has invariably gotten away with poor performance, inefficiency, corruption and widespread violation of political rights and civil liberties.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 4, 2011

Kansai region wonders: Could it happen here?

TSURUGA, Fukui Pref. — On a hillside overlooking Tsuruga, about a dozen children and their mothers are enjoying the day at At Home, the Fukui Atomic Energy Science Museum. Inside, kids rush to play free arcade-style games spread across the two-floor facility. Some feature the latest computer graphics...
Reader Mail
Apr 3, 2011

Nuclear benefits outweigh risks

Philip White's argument against nuclear power in his March 30 article ("A silver lining to the Fukushima disaster?") is weak. It's typical of the attacks used by opponents of atomic energy in that it includes no hard data, relying on vague fears of unseen or unknowable impacts as it tries to steer us...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Apr 3, 2011

Every day ought to be Earth Day

I usually avoid large gatherings of people, even though it has become my job to give lectures and to attend seminars and meetings and such. However, you would never see me anywhere near a rock concert or a rugby, soccer or baseball match.
Reader Mail
Apr 3, 2011

Leaders must anticipate disaster

Again, America is witnessing an international crisis, this time the earthquake-tsunami aftermath in Japan. As we have seen so many times in recent years — especially after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans (2005) — our nation's leaders appear to grow wiser by reaction rather than by a proactive approach....
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Apr 2, 2011

Creative shelters bring privacy to Tohoku evacuees

Architects and designers are coming to the aid of homeless needing privacy and shelter in the wake of the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake.
BUSINESS
Apr 2, 2011

Tepco may hobble Toshiba and Hitachi

Toshiba Corp. and Hitachi Corp. may struggle to find buyers for their nuclear reactors after the worst atomic disaster since Chernobyl damaged Japan's reputation for safety, according to analysts and investors.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2011

Coming together for the survivors

One recent afternoon in a small community room in an apartment building in Chuo Ward, Tokyo, people streamed in carrying big boxes and bags full of food, beverages and clothing.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 1, 2011

'Burnt by the Sun 2: Exodus (Japan title: Senka no Nadia)'

A college friend of mine had gone from judo instructor to Self-Defense Force soldier, and when I asked him what triggered his move, he replied that in modern-day Japan, the SDF was the quickest way to attaining inner calm and career satisfaction. "It's not like I actually have to fight in a war," he...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 1, 2011

Conceptualizing old ideas into 'new' art

A persisting fear with conceptual art is that you are being made a fool of. Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook's 2008 video works are ostensibly about cultural preconceptions and the difficulties of interpretation, but her participants are often left looking ignorant and unsophisticated. For the videos, she placed...
COMMENTARY
Apr 1, 2011

Japan-China relations warming up in crisis

HONG KONG — If there is a rainbow behind the dark clouds currently blanketing Japan — the country's gravest crisis since World War II — it could be this: Relations with China, which were at their worst in decades last year, are taking a turn for the better.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 1, 2011

'Kigeki Konzen Tokkyu (Cannonball Wedlock)'

Hollywood screwball comedies have long been favorites of Japanese filmmakers, with many listing such genre masters as Frank Capra, Howard Hawks and Billy Wilder as influences. Screwball comedy heroines, however, are usually self-centered, hard-headed types, while the local feminine ideal on screen is...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 1, 2011

Second Harvest rallies support for Tohoku

By 9 a.m. on Thursday morning, March 24, several delivery trucks have deposited boxes of emergency supplies in front of the Taito Ward, Tokyo warehouse of Second Harvest Japan, a charity-based food bank.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 1, 2011

Designs on love, dreams and fun

The 20th century, with its emphasis on war and mass industrialization, favored the functionalism of modernism in architecture, design, and other areas. This saw such elements as decoration, embellishment, playfulness and humor pushed to the sidelines in design. The rise of a more consumerist economic...
BUSINESS
Apr 1, 2011

Tepco investors may be wiped out

Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s shareholders may be wiped out by the cleanup costs and liabilities stemming from the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.
EDITORIALS
Mar 31, 2011

Improving ties with Russia

Following Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's Nov. 1 visit to Kunashiri Island, one of the four Russian-held islands off Hokkaido, the Japan-Russia relationship has been in a chilly state. But Japan should carefully watch recent Russian moves and look for a clue to improving ties.
BUSINESS
Mar 31, 2011

Nuke crisis scares foreign buyers off seafood

Exports of Japanese seafood have been canceled by foreign buyers on concern that the products may have been contaminated by radiation leaking from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, a government official said.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years